Snake Eye Piercings: Whether Or Not To Give Into The Reptilian Allure!

Piercings are a way of saying that you are adventurous and trendy. Hence the location of a piercing is made unique to up one’s fashion quotient. If tongue piercings are risky, snake eyes piercing is the exclusive choice of the intrepid. In this write-up, I have tried to touch upon all the relevant aspects of the snake eye piercing so that you can make an informed leap!

What Is Snake Eye Piercing?

What else is akin to a snake on the human body than the tongue? This explains the choice of location for snake eyes piercing which is across the tongue. The snake eyes piercing makes your tongue look like a snake as the curved barbell is placed horizontally towards the tip of the tongue so that the two petite ball ends give the semblance of the eyes of the snake. It is a cute piercing which is quite subtle and mysterious as it stays inside your mouth until it wants to come hissing out! 

What does a snake eye piercing look like? Different types of snake eye piercings exist, like the classic snake eyes piercing, double snake eyes piercing, skull snake eye piercings, crooked snake eyes piercing, snake eye tongue rings, etc. You can go for a diamond snake piercing if you want to take things up by a few notches. You may also pair it with a nose piercing or lip piercing to look trendier.

States like Oregon have declared snake eyes piercing illegal along with uvula and testes piercings. Some states are sleeping over the matter. But it would be prudent to take a medical or dental insurance to face any eventualities that may come up. 

Are Snake Eyes Piercings Safe?

Here are the facts! Snake eyes piercing comes with the following risks.

Potential Risks of Snake Eye Piercing

Tooth erosion and breakage

When the mouth is closed and the tongue at rest, the tip of the tongue sits at the back of your front two teeth, right? When you put hard jewelry there it gets pressed directly into the gums which can wear them over time. The fact that it will rub against the teeth means it will also cause erosion of the enamel and tooth breakage.

Tongue damage

Topping the list of snake eyes piercing risks is the damage it can do to your tongue. As it is the tip of the tongue at play, you may end up snagging and tearing the snake eyes piercing if you are not super careful.

Speech impediment

Some develop lisps as the tongue may not be able to pronounce certain letters the way they are meant to be vocalized. This is because the tongue is actually two separate muscles connected by tissue. With the piercing, they can often end up binding these two muscles preventing them from working independently. This not only leads to lisping while speaking, but also causes problems with chewing and swallowing the food. Some may develop permanent speech difficulties as well. The American Dental Association points out that sometimes the swelling can be so serious that your breathing itself can be hampered leading to life-threatening situations.

Infections

You should also ensure that you choose a good piercer who has a solid sanitation agenda. You should go and inspect the workspace to discuss the hygiene practices adopted to ensure that there is no risk of cross-contamination or infections. It is very important to get a clear idea about the piercing and the complications right from the horse’s mouth. You should try to extract the aftercare tips as well to make sure that it is practical for you to go ahead with the piercing.  Make sure that the piercer is APP certified and the shop has a valid license to operate.

Alternatives To Snake Eyes Piercings

If you are a fan of snake eye piercings, but do not want to risk it, here is an alternative. A pair of vertical tongue piercings on either side of the tongue can be a great twist. Instead of going horizontal across the tongue, these are two separate piercings that go vertically through either side of the tongue ensuring that they do not rub against your teeth or gums while you are eating or conversing. You will also have more jewelry choices then the curved barbell that is typically used in snake eyes piercings. 

You could also try snake bite piercing and frog eyes piercing which are piercings that placed on both sides of your mouth or lips. Snake eyes nose piercing and snake eyes lip piercing are less adventurous options to try.

Procedure of Snake Eye Piercing

The one, two, three’s of snake piercings are:

The first step in any piercing is cleaning the area where you are getting a piercing done. As you cannot sanitize your tongue, general dental hygiene practices would suffice. 

Secondly, the piercer marks the position of the piercing. You need to find the right place to pierce because the snake eye piercing can turn fatal if done carelessly.  They use a chomp to hold the tongue in place as the tongue has a tendency to wiggle and hit a vein in the case of snake eyes tongue piercings.

Thirdly, a sharp needle will be used to puncture the tongue to place the snake eyes piercing jewelry which will basically show as two dainty studs on both sides of the tongue while the bar would be hidden underneath.  Whereas if you opt for surface snake eye piercing aka the scoop piercing, the bar will be inserted horizontally through your tongue.

The procedure hardly lasts more than five minutes max and is not complicated. But the aftercare and healing time is quite a deal breaker. The choice of material for the jewelry also needs some serious thought. Gold, surgical stainless steel, and titanium are three hypoallergenic metals that are recommended for the jewelry part. And to manage the pain, sucking on ice cubes is recommended. If there is higher intensity pain, you can down some pain killers after consulting with your piercer.

Snake eye piercing healing and aftercare

The healing time will be longer as there are chances of getting infected as snake eyes piercing is an intraoral one (1). Though a great excuse to gorge on ice creams during the healing period, this one needs your care and patience. There may be pus or bloody pus oozing out during the initial days of healing. You may need to wait 4-8 weeks to get rid of the swelling and a full 2-3 months for complete healing. Mind you, we are talking about a piercing that may knock your teeth as and when, and aggravate the wound to some extent.

At the outset, be prepared to be alarmed by extraordinary swelling on the tongue which will subside with time and care. A tip would be to keep your head elevated while sleeping to ease the swelling. You may also need to abstain from alcohol consumption and smoking to speed up the healing process. Try to avoid hot foods and beverages as well.

Swish with saline water after breakfast, lunch, and dinner to avoid infections in the mouth. The salt must be sea salt as it contains more healing properties than the ordinary table salt. It sure will hasten the healing process by avoiding any potential infections.  It would be best if you avoid mouth rinses that contain alcohol. Also make it a point to avoid touching the area and fiddling with your ornament. Remember to wash your hands clean before you touch the snake eye piercing every single time. Your hand harbors more bacterial than you can imagine, with your hands coming into contact with contaminated surfaces. 

Post-Piercing Diet Considerations

 It will be helpful to stick to soft foods in order to make sure that you do not strain your tongue while it is on its journey towards healing. Some stick to baby food during the healing process, but you need to ensure that you have a balanced diet to ensure that your body heals faster and can combat any infection with an immune system that is in shipshape. You should have enough antioxidants in the form of green tea, raspberry, dark chocolates, etc. after getting snake eyes piercing. Having moderate amount of spices will also help in the healing process. Adding turmeric to your diet will also hasten the healing as turmeric has antiseptic properties which is why it is a well-known home remedy for healing mouth ulcers.

Those who are unable to ingest nutritious food that can take nutritional supplements if you feel that you aid in hastening the healing of the piercing. You can also take fruit and vegetable juices and soups to ensure that you have proper and healthy dietary intake. You may also take milk and milk products if you are not lactose intolerant.

Stick to your basic oral care regimen by brushing your teeth, both during the day and after dinner, with due care to ensure that you do not yank at the piercing.  You can select some flavour that is not too minty as it can irritate your wound.

Snake Eye Piercings Pros and Cons

Snake eye piercing also have their share of its pros and cons.

Pros

Discreet:

You can never go wrong with a snake eye piercing if you want a hidden piercing that you do not like to flaunt each time. If you are in a professional setting, this piercing is not going to be a bone of contention, especially if your work environment has a strict code against piercings and tattoos as this is not an obvious piercing.

Cute piercing:

Snake eyes on top of tongue is quite unique. Unlike other piercings, the cute snake eye piercing stays in and comes out only when you want it to. If you are someone who loves to be extraordinary in your fashion choices, you are going to be admired big time.

Establishes that you are adventurous:

You will be able to show off your spark of adventure through this piercing as this is a rare pick.

Not a bloody piercing:

As it is the tongue that is getting pierced, rest assured that with snake eyes piercing you will bleed less than you would with other piercings.

Less pain:

Snake eyes piercing does not cause as much pain as the piercing does not take much time. Some describe it as similar to the pain that you get when you bite your tongue accidentally. But it depends on the pain tolerance level of each individual as to how much pain you will have to go through.

Cons

As tempting as these snake eyes tongue piercing pictures are, you shouldn’t be heading to the piercing center without knowing the dangers of snake eyes piercing.

Infections:

Developing an infection in your mouth will make eating difficult. Furthermore, infections on the tongue are more dangerous than they are in other places as the infection tends to spread faster when they are located on the tongue, as in snake eyes piercing.

Halitosis:

With the piercing, the plaque gets one more place to stick onto. If not cleaned properly with proper dental hygiene practices, you may develop foul breath.

Not kisser- friendly:

This is not a kisser- friendly piercing as the tongue movements may cause tears which will be a kill- sport by all means. You may also need to alert your kissing partner about the piercing. You may need to wait until the pierced area has completely healed to make sure that it does not get infected. 

High risk of rejection:

The snake eyes piercing is prone to rejection as it is a tricky piercing in a moist area which can attract oodles of infection.

Meticulous aftercare needed:

Any piercing should be seen serious and taken care of with utmost care. Tongue piercing sites are even more vulnerable.  You may need to do saline rinses every time you have a meal, until there has been a complete healing. You may need to brush your teeth with caution as well. 

Malnutrition:

As you may have difficulty masticating the food, the snake eye piercing will make you stick to soft foods because of which you may suffer from nutritional deficiencies. Iron, protein, vitamin deficiencies, etc. can make you look and feel famished. If you face such issues with your snake eyes piercing, you may need to rely on supplements to make sure that you do not have nutritional deficiencies.

Dental damages:

The snake eye piercings lead to gum erosion and dental damage. It can cause damage to the enamel, thereby causing chipping of the teeth as the snake eyes piercing may knock against the teeth every time it moves. This can cause damage of teeth over time (2).

Speech problems: Some letters may be difficult to pronounce after the snake eye tongue piercing. It takes time to get adjusted to the piercing and you may find it difficult to speak as effortlessly as before. This may result in lisping.

Pros	Cons
Cute	Risks of Infections
Versatile	Possibilities of lisping
Healing time is approximately 8 weeks	Can cause inflammation that can cause creating issues that may be fatal.
Discreet and hidden	Dental and gum damage
Trendy	Malnutrition
Not very painful	Rejection
Not a complicated procedure	Halitosis

Snake Eyes Piercing Cost

Generally, there are no standardized rates for snake eye piercings. Snake eye piercings may cost you anywhere between $35 to $65. It may go higher with the cost of the jewelry you are opting. Some even go for diamond snake piercings which are, needless to say, costly.

In a Nutshell!

Though the snake eye piercing is a trendy piercing, the after-effects are not so trendy. Due care and caution are necessary during its healing process. Dental and gum issues aside! Do ask yourself why you would risk so much over a piercing. If you can convince yourself, go ahead and get one!

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